This disclosure relates to poly(arylene ether) and more particularly to methods of forming articles from poly(arylene ether).
Poly(arylene ether) resins are commercially attractive materials because of their unique combination of physical, chemical, and electrical properties. They are a widely used class of thermoplastic engineering resins characterized by excellent hydrolytic stability, dimensional stability, toughness, heat resistance, and dielectric properties. Furthermore, the combination of poly(arylene ether) with other resins provides blends that result in additional overall desirable properties such as chemical resistance, high strength, and high flow.
Poly(arylene ether) is commercially available blended with other resins such as poly(styrene), polypropylene and polyamide. These blends are usually made using poly(arylene ether) powder. The poly(arylene ether) powder that is used in the preparation of polymer blends may have a wide particle size distribution, which can affect processability. Moreover, the density of the poly(arylene ether) powder is generally less than or equal to 0.6 gram per cubic centimeter. Such a low density requires large volumes for storage and transportation. Moreover, due to the fluffy nature of the poly(arylene ether) powder, it is difficult to feed to an extruder at higher feed rates.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method of forming poly(arylene ether) powder into a compressed form that has better processability and higher density.